Sale: 350 / Modern Art, June 19. 2009 in Munich Lot 212

 
Lovis Corinth - Neger und Blondine


212
Lovis Corinth
Neger und Blondine, 1911.
Watercolour
Estimate:
€ 20,000 / $ 21,600
Sold:
€ 39,040 / $ 42,163

(incl. surcharge)
Lot: 212
Lovis Corinth
1858 Tapiau/Ostpreußen - 1925 Zandvoort/Holland
Neger und Blondine. 1911.
Watercolor with opaque white over drawing in pencil.
Signed and dated lower right. On laid paper. 47,6 x 28 cm (18,7 x 11 in), size of sheet.

PROVENANCE: Private collection Frankfurt am Main (acquired from Galerie Wolfgang Ketterer, Munich, 1974).

LITERATURE: Galerie Wolfgang Ketterer, Munich, inventory catalogue 38, 1966/67, cat. no. 256.
Galerie Wolfgang Ketterer, Munich, inventory catalogue 99, 1974/I, cat. no. 342.

The year 1911 was fateful for Lovis Corinth, who until then had always been full of life and vigour. In December of that year he had a stroke, which completely changed his life and, concomitantly, his art. The present watercolor, which is unambiguously erotic, was probably painted before that decisive hiatus because it attests to a confident artist, who is unafraid of dealing with touchy subjects on the contrary, his pleasure in configuring this rather risqué subject is literally palpable. The provocative aspect has been played for all it was worth here because at that time scenes of sex between black and white was still regarded as indecent. Yet Lovis Corinth went ahead without second thoughts, leaving nothing out. Years later, in 1919, he did the erotic lithographs illustrating a poem by Friedrich Schiller, “Der Venuswagen” [“Chariot of Venus”], that was printed privately by the Gurlitt-Presse. There, too, Corinth had no qualms about rendering erotic scenes explicitly. Our racy watercolor is proof of the artist’s vitality and documents an unorthodox mind-set. [KD].

The image in very good condition in terms of freshness of colors. Margins with paper adhesions from a former mounting. There with two small holes and two tiny splits. Verso of left edge with remains of a former mounting.

EUR: 20.000 - 30.000DIFF.(19%)
US$: 27.280 - 40.920




212
Lovis Corinth
Neger und Blondine, 1911.
Watercolour
Estimate:
€ 20,000 / $ 21,600
Sold:
€ 39,040 / $ 42,163

(incl. surcharge)